


The Salvatore Diaries

by SsadD_l0serS



Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: BAMF Caroline Forbes, Caroline is a Salvatore, Elena Gilbert Bashing, F/M, Flashbacks, Minor Elena Gilbert/Damon Salvatore, Minor Elena Gilbert/Stefan Salvatore, Mystic falls 1864, NOLA 1800s, Past Relationship(s), Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28638165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SsadD_l0serS/pseuds/SsadD_l0serS
Summary: Caroline Salvatore never planned on returning to mystic falls or seeing her brothers again, but when old lovers and enemies show up she decides to knock some sense into them.-Aka. My idea of a fic where Caroline is a Salvatore and decides to join in on the Mystic Falls drama.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes & Damon Salvatore, Caroline Forbes & Elijah Mikaelson, Caroline Forbes & Stefan Salvatore, Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Comments: 32
Kudos: 88





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This Caroline is gonna be kinda dark but she has her emotions on. I love the idea of Caroline already having turned and then showing up in mystic falls so that's what this is. This chapter is a prologue, but the rest of the chapters should be much longer and will jump from pov to pov.

She was driving towards a town she hadn’t stepped foot in in over a hundred and sixty years. A place she had never planned on returning to after the fateful night of her turn. She wondered how different it looked now, as she drove past the sign.

_“WELCOME TO MYSTIC FALLS”_

Welcoming the newcomer’s, vampire, human, and anything in-between, to a town defined by its history. A place stained with blood and magic, that disguises itself as a small town in Virginia, that is quiet and tame and has some unfortunate incidents with wild animals. Though anyone truly familiar with the town would do everything to stay away, many are drawn to it, creating an unfortunate circumstance for many that find themselves caught in the crossfire of the supernatural.

She hadn’t planned on coming back, but her family were well, and truly, idiots. She knew the comet had come to pass over mystic falls, and she had hoped they had decided to stay away. Then she had heard of the many unfortunate things coming to pass in the town she once called home and knew it was wishful thinking. That wasn’t enough to send her running home though. The revelation that there might have been a human doppelganger caught between two vampire brothers had her on the first flight from her residence in New York back to the place she swore would never see her immortal face again.

She pulled into the driveway of the boarding house. She was not delighted to find that her family’s estate had been torn down, but glad to find that they still had a sizable portion of land. She Stepped out of her baby blue ’68 convertible corvette. The car was one of her most prized possessions and one of the few gifts she kept, along with a diamond infinity bracelet she wore on her left wrist at all times and a necklace that was at one point her mothers and later turned into a daylight charm.

She closed the door to her car ran a hand through her long golden tresses and reached into the backseat to grab her suitcase before gaining the courage to enter the house. She walked into the large boarding house and unceremoniously dropped the suitcase on the floor before calling out in a melodic tone.

“Brothers, I’m home!”


	2. Welcome Home.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline comes back home to find a new doppelganger and family she hasn't seen in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caroline is slightly ooc but I hope it's believable because she has a much different storyline than TVD Caroline. This is set at the beginning of S2EP9.

Stefan, Damon, and Elena were all in the study listening to Rose’s story about the Originals when a voice rang through the boarding house.

“Brothers, I’m home!”

Stefan and Damon stole a quick glance from each other before speeding to the entryway. Neither knew what to say with their little sister standing in front of them for the first time since they all had been turned with a suitcase at her feet and a huge genuine smile on her face. Thankfully, Caroline knew exactly what to do. She walked towards them brought them each in for a hug before smacking them upside the head.

“OW! What was that for!” Damon yelled while rubbing the back of his head.

“That was for you two being such idiots that word got all the way to me about the weird shit going down in Mystic Falls! Seriously! What is wrong with you two?” By now Elena and Rose had joined the group, causing Elena to step forward and try to defend them.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are, but none of what happened in this town is their fault, it’s Katherine’s”

“Ah, yes. You must be the doppelganger. You know I have an old friend that’s had a deep fascination with doppelgangers for centuries.” At the horrified look on the girls face she decided to amend herself. “Don’t worry I haven’t seen him since the seventies. Now.” She turned to look back at her brothers “You two are gonna catch me up on what happened, and Rose?” She turned to look at Rose who seemed to be trying to fade into the background. “It’s nice to see you.” She smiled kindly and picked her bag up used her vampire speed to set it down in a room and was sitting on the couch in no time.

Elena looked at Stefan for some sort of explanation. “She’s our sister. My twin.” Answering her silent plea.

“But neither of you ever said anything about having a sister.”

“That happens when you haven’t seen her in 160 years. I thought she was dead.” Damon snarkily chimed in.

“Hey! I called.”

“I haven’t heard from you since the nineties and before that the sixties.”

“Well, I’ve been busy. Plus, Stefan and I hung out in the twenties.”

“We did?” Caroline gave him a condescending look. “I guess we did. To be honest I don’t remember most of that decade.”

Caroline snorted at that and then motioned for everyone to join her in the living space.

“Now, start at the beginning.”

\---

Caroline sat through the whole story of Mystic Falls these past few months up until the kidnapping of Elena which led the doppelganger to ask how they knew each other.

“Well as I was telling you before Caroline came in, I have been on the run for centuries from The Originals. Caroline has helped me evade them once or twice throughout this past century, though I wasn’t aware she was a Salvatore.” Rose spoke for Caroline.

“Yeah, I’ve helped a few people hide from The Originals before. I’m generally the first stop before running into them nowadays.”

“Why is that?” Elena asked.

“Doesn’t matter right now. How about we finish this story, surely Rose didn’t simply have a change of heart.”

“I didn’t, Elijah showed up and then your brothers came to save Elena. Vervain grenades and all.”

“I staked him in the heart with a coat rack.”

“And now we just have to make sure no one else finds out about Elena being a human Doppelganger.”

“ _If_ that’s how you killed an Original. You couldn’t have at least decapitated him? Even if you left his head it would’ve taken a lot longer than an hour to regenerate. Whatever. What’s done is done.” She brought out her phone and started typing in a number.

“What do you mean? Who are you calling?”

“Originals can’t be killed like normal vampires. You need a special weapon, and even those don’t put them down permanently. And I’m calling a lawyer to work up a lease on this house, considering I can walk in without permission so can any other vampire. And you.” She turned her head to Elena while putting the phone to her ear. “Can’t leave this house, not without protection, not before or after we put the lease in your name.”

She walked out of the room with the phone to her ear, leaving a very confused group of four.

\---

Stefan was dumbstruck. He hadn’t seen his sister since just after her turn, or not in an instance where he could remember, but she had changed drastically. She used to be this sweet, innocent, naïve little girl and now she was this strong and intelligent woman. He didn’t expect her to be the same person she was, but he didn’t expect her to have changed this much. She knew more than him on the vampire front, more lore, more people, she seemed to fit being a vampire. Neither he nor Damon were good as vampires, Damon adapted, and Stefan tried to keep his morals. Caroline just seemed like herself from their childhood, but with a backbone and a new elegance. She grew into herself as a vampire where Stefan and Damon grew out of themselves.

He walked into the room she had chosen for herself as she was hanging up the phone.

“It’s good to see you Care. You seem, is happy the right word?”

“I’m a little pissed off at you and Damon, but yeah I’m as happy as I can be. Seriously though, you had to just go and find the actual carbon copy of Katherine to fall in love with?”

“She’s not Katherine, she’s quite the opposite. She’s kind and humane. She loves me.”

“Oh, yeah I’m _sure_ she’s not toying with yours and Damon’s feelings like Katherine did, and _maybe_ Katherine was the same as a human and her turning into a vampire made her the way she is. You know as well as I that you can’t stay the same person after turning it’s just impossible.”

“But Elena’s not gonna turn if I can help it.”

“So, you’re just gonna watch her grow old and slowly watch your love slip away from you?”

“Yeah if that’s what she wants.”

“That’s not love, that’s infatuation. You would lay the world at her feet wouldn’t you? You would do everything possible to make her happy even if she disregards everything you want? If she loved you as much as you love her, wouldn’t there be a give and take?”

“I would never ask her to turn for me.”

“And I’m not telling you to, but I’m just trying to give you perspective. You need to change the way you look at things after you’ve turned Stefan or else you’re going to drown yourself in what could have been.”

“How am I supposed to look at it any other way! We all would have been happier human. Living a human life and having children and dying of old age instead of this curse.”

“That’s what I’m saying Stefan. When you’re with a human you can’t help but want to have the choices they have, but we don’t, we never can. You need to stop looking at life through the lens of a poor kid who fell in love with the wrong girl and got shot by his dad! You need to look at it through the lens of a person that was handed eternal life, you can do anything, go anywhere learn anything and you’re wasting it on a whiny little girl that doesn’t recognize her own life as precious!”

“We’re not going to get anywhere arguing about this.”

“Yeah." She huffed before giving him a sweet smile. "Glad to see you’re not in ripper mode.” Stefan always liked this part of Caroline. Even when she was pissed as all hell trying to get a point across she would drop it in a heartbeat if she knew it was not the right time.

“Sorry about not remembering the twenties, by the way.”

“Oh, it’s fine I didn’t expect you to, and I wasn’t in the best frame of mind then either.”

“So, what have you been up to? Your letters got scarcer and scarcer over the years. By the time it was customary to have a phone I would’ve been lucky to hear from you once a decade.”

“I guess life caught up to me. Every once in a while I’d realize just how long it had been and that’s when I’d call.”

“Years blend together, yeah. So, what happened to Nik? That was his name right? He seemed to just phase out of your updates.”

“He floats in and out of my life. We’ll run into each other spend a few blissful years together then something will happen and off he goes. It’s nice when I’m with him, but I haven’t seen him in a few decades and that’s probably for the best.”

Stefan nodded. He didn’t know what else to say. He wanted to ask her how she knew so much about The Originals but wasn’t sure how she would respond. They were twins, but they weren’t nearly as close as they were when they were children or before they turned and was afraid he’d get some brush off answer.

“Go on, ask. I know you want to.” She smiled up at him.

“How do you know so much?”

“Like I said, I’ve been busy. I ran into an Original about a year after I turned and spent quite a bit of time with them. I’m not going to tell you anything that you don’t need to know though. I’ve found knowing more about them is more of a death sentence than anything else.”

“How did you survive them?”

“Nik protected me.” She lightly chuckled to herself as if she told a joke that only she knew the punchline to. “Where’s the school? I’m guessing I will have to enroll if I’m staying in town.”

He knew she was dodging his questions but answered her, nonetheless.

\---

Elena was freaking out. Some random Original vampire wanted to sacrifice her for some heinous ritual and her sorta ex-boyfriend apparently had a twin that knew more then she was letting on and just showed up out of the blue and was now effectively putting her on house arrest. She turned to Damon who was heading over to his liquor station ready for a drink.

“So, that’s your sister?”

“Yes.”

“How does she know The Originals can’t be killed with a stake?”

“No clue.”

“Does she know more?”

“Yes.” This answer came from Rose. “Like Damon, I thought she had died. Considering what she knows of them. Though I doubt she’ll give up any information of real substance. Always plays her cards close to the chest that one.”

“You said you know her cause she helped you hide?”

“If she runs into someone she knows Klaus is after she’ll send them in a direction she believes will be least likely for them to head towards. The Originals don’t actively search for those they are after. It’s part of the torture, running for centuries always having to look over your shoulder for someone or something out of place that could send you to your death. It’s rather effective, and you have every enemy on earth trying to get on your good side for some semblance of mercy.”

“Which is why you kidnapped me.”

“Yes, which clearly was a bad choice.” She looked down at her hands before composing herself. “Caroline doesn’t actively seek out those of us that want the help, but if you know of her and need it she won’t turn you down unless she is unable to. She’s on the run too, but she never gave a reason as to why, and generally hides in the big cities. Which is odd for someone who is trying not to be captured. And every few decades or so no one that wants her help can find her.”

“Does she feed on humans?” Elena didn’t know what to think of her yet but needed to know if she could put some semblance of trust in her.

“Of course, but from what I remember she tries to limit her diet to the scum of the earth rather than ordinary folk. You know the type.”

“When was the last time you saw her?” Damon spoke up despite being relatively quiet this whole conversation. Had been uncharacteristically quiet since she walked through the door in fact.

“Late seventies, right after one of those blackouts in fact.”

“Talking about me are you?” Caroline waltzed back into the room Stefan in tow.

“Just trying to see if we can trust you.” Elena announced.

“I understand. Now, I’m going to set up my classes, and since you have school as well I need your schedule.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Hopefully, after this whole supernatural thing dies down, you can go back to living a normal life. Missing a substantial amount of junior year can hurt that, so I will align our schedules and make sure you’re safe during the school day. For today though, you’re stuck here. Stefan can watch you till I get back.” She turned to Rose and Damon. “I want you two to meet up with your contact see what he knows, who _his_ contact is, anything you can.”

\---

Once Caroline got back from the school she decided to relieve Stefan of the awkward tension between him and Elena and sent him off for school. Her and Elena sat in silence for a few minutes before the awkwardness became too unbearable for Caroline.

“Ask me whatever you want. I can’t stand this awkward silence.”

“Stefan told me what you told him about the Originals.”

“Okay?”

“What aren’t you telling us?”

“A lot. There are parts that you don’t need to know and I’m not at liberty to tell.”

“How do you know which direction to send the people you protect?”

“I know where they are headed, the general strategies they have for sending out lackeys. That’s how they find those they want to punish. They never find them personally someone under them does. You just need to know what to look for and they are pretty easy to evade. It’s when they are actively hunting you down you need to be worried. Like you.”

“Why do they want me?”

“You’re the doppelganger. A magical phenomenon that only happens twice a millennium. Katherine screwed with the sacrifice the last time. Klaus isn’t going to give up until the curse is broken this time.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“Good. Don’t trust anyone. Not even those you know well. Witches have their tricks, and Originals love using them.”

“Oh. Maybe we should talk to Katherine.”

“I’m sorry?”

“We’ll bring her some blood in exchange for information. Then we’ll know what happened to her and I can figure out how to get out of this sacrifice.”

“Okay, but I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

By the time Elena and Caroline got to the tomb Caroline was severely on edge. She hadn’t spoken to Katherine since she turned, but she never trusted her. Never liked her. Now though she was afraid she could see right through her and would reveal everything she was trying to keep hidden.

“Hello Elena.” The ghostly figure looked over her double to the other side of the cave. “Caroline, well isn’t this a surprise.”

“Cut the crap Katerina we need info and we’ve got blood. That’s gotta sound good right about now?” She sounded bitchy and on edge, she knew that, but she needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

“Katerina? Have you been hanging around my old circles, Care?” She gave a smirk to match Caroline’s scowl.

“Look, we just need some info on Klaus and the Originals okay? Now this book.” Elena pulled out the large book from her satchel. “Says that the Petrova line ended with you, clearly that’s not the case so what happened?”

Caroline sat and listened to Katherine’s entire life story while Elena passed her blood and asked all the wrong questions. Eventually she got bored and decided to ask a question she always wondered.

“If you were okay with becoming a vampire, why didn’t you just drink some blood before the ritual?”

“There was no way Klaus would allow that, he needed to be sure I was dead not caught in a loophole.”

“What about resurrection? Magic allows for it, as long as you keep the balance.”

“I was an 18-year-old girl in a new country unknowingly being held prisoner. Where would I have found a witch willing to kill someone for me?”

Caroline stayed quiet after that not knowing what else to say. When she got a text from Stefan asking where they were she texted him back quickly to let him know that they were fine. When Elena got what she wanted they went back to the boarding house to meet up with Stefan, Damon, and Rose.

\---

“I think I know what we should do.” Rose and Damon just caught the rest of them up on what happened in Richmond. “Though, most of you might not like it.” Everyone urged Caroline on to continue but she was hesitating. “We need to get in contact with Elijah, if I call Klaus it will be too suspicious, but if I let Elijah know that I know where the doppelganger is I might be able to convince him to make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?” Elena asked.

“That will depend on if he’s willing to meet.”

“So, what? We bring the enemy into our home offer him a glass of whiskey and beg him not to kill Elena?”

“No, we ask him to give us time to train a witch to resurrect her.”

“No!” Stefan yelled “We aren’t handing Elena over for some guy to kill in the hopes that some crazy, probably fake curse will be lifted.”

“It’s our best bet. It’s either have a chance at resurrecting her or trying to turn her. This sacrifice will happen, but we can let it happen on our terms.”

“I agree with her.” Elena who had been mulling it over spoke up. “Call him. Tell him to come here, and we can negotiate.”

Caroline nodded and left while getting ready to dial a number on her phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, let me know what you think. If there is anything you want to see in future chapters please let me know I probably will incorporate it. The next chapter will probably have some flash backs for context.


	3. Negotiations.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elijah and Caroline negotiate terms. We get a glimpse into Caroline's past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The timeline might be a little messed up as the story moves forward, but if something I know changes that isn't blatantly obvious in the story, but can be confusing, I'll add it in the notes.

Caroline was outside about to dial Elijah. They had kept each other’s numbers over the years, never working up to actually interacting though. It was a safety net in case something happened. She was about to press the call button when Damon walked out. Things between them had been tense. She was never as close to him as she was Stefan but after she turned things had just gotten worse. She wrote him far less than she did Stefan and didn’t even contact him until nearly twenty years after they had turned.

“You can’t do this.”

“And why not? We’re giving her a choice.”

“It’s a death sentence.”

“Damon, I know The Originals. Klaus will stop at nothing to break this curse. At least we have a plan to try and make sure Elena doesn’t die permanently. This way she knows what she is getting into and has some semblance of control.”

“I’m not letting you do this.”

“And I’m not letting you take this choice away from her.” She stared him down until he backed off. “Go inside write up a list of things you want to add into the negotiation while I get this sorted with Elijah.”

Damon just stared at her before shaking his head and stalking back off into the house.

\---

**Mystic Falls, 1864**

Caroline woke up in her room, confused, not remembering how she got there. Her body felt terrible, like it had that one time her and Stefan snuck into the liquor cabinet and drank far too much. The light shining in through her room was unbearable, there was too much noise, and she was thirsty. Incredibly thirsty. She didn’t remember drinking too much last night. In fact, she had only had a glass of wine from what she can remember.

She had dinner with her brothers. It was the first time she’d seen them in over a week. She was told they had died along with many others the night of the church fire, but they showed up yesterday. They didn’t elaborate much as to why they had been presumed dead for a week, but Caroline only cared that her brothers were alive and well. They had dinner with Emily Bennett who for some reason wouldn’t let the two out of her sight. They had wine and talked about what was going to happen now that their father was dead. They decided she would be taken care of by Emily. The last thing she remembers was hugging Damon.

Before she was able to get out of bed she heard a knock at the door. She situated herself to sit up and cover her nightgown.

“Come in!”

Stefan walked in with red puffy eyes and pulled a stool up to sit next to her bed.

His voice was unsteady, and his speech was choppy. He was more of a mess than Caroline had ever seen him. “I’m so sorry. Damon wasn’t supposed to do that, I don’t,” He took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry.”

“Stefan what’s going on? What did Damon do?”

“He turned you. If you don’t feed you’ll die. If you do you’ll become a vampire.”

“Stefan don’t be silly. Vampires aren’t real, those were just tales spun by father to scare us into staying in line.”

“Father never told you?”

“Told me what? Stef, you’re not making any sense.”

“Vampires are real Caroline. Katherine was one. She fed me and Damon her blood. Father shot us. That is why Damon and I weren’t around this past week, that is why Emily was there. We were supposed to put you in her care. Let you live the life Damon, and I can’t. Damon apparently didn’t agree though.” He looked her in the eyes for the first time since he entered the room. “Damon put his blood in your wine. Killed you. We thought father had told you the truth. I’m sure you’re very confused right now, but if you don’t turn, Care, you’ll die. And it’s a great thing being a vampire.”

Her breathing had become labored and she was pulling her knees up close to her chest.

“Vampires are monsters Stefan. They feed off the souls of humans. They prey on the weak and vulnerable. How could that be a great thing? Stefan have you gone mad? Even if what you’re saying is true do you really think I could do that? How could you? You’re kind and moral. Everything a vampire is not.”

“That’s not true, you just don’t understand yet. You can’t.”

“Just leave me alone Stefan.”

Stefan looked down dejectedly, standing up and walking out of the room. Not even five minutes later Damon had decided to take Stefan’s spot. Holding a glass of viscous red liquid, that every possible sense Caroline had latched onto. She watched as it was sat down on her bedside table and watched as it coated the sides when it sloshed up after being set down.

“I’m sorry.” Damon said looking at his hands, remorse filling every feature on his face. “Stefan forced me to feed when I didn’t want to turn, but I did even worse to you and that’s unforgivable.”

“Why? Stefan said that you had decided to let me live my life with blissful ignorance. Why did you go back on that?”

“I couldn’t think to live without my baby sister. I know it was wrong, but my emotions are controlling my every action right now.”

“You could have asked me. I don’t want to live without my brothers. You should have told me what was happening, maybe I wouldn’t have turned but you still would have been a part of my life. You took my choice away. One of the few I would have had in our society.”

“Care- “

“Don’t!”

He took a deep breath. “I had Emily make this.” He pulled out the necklace Caroline had been given when her mother died. It was a beautiful lapis lazuli pendant with a carving of an eagle imbedded into it on a simple silver chain. Caroline rarely took it off unless to sleep or bathe. “It will allow you to walk in the sun if you decide to turn.” He took the necklace and set it down next to the glass of blood. That was still plaguing her senses. Then left the room.

Caroline sat alone in her room with nothing but her thoughts and the louder than normal sounds of her house. She stood up and took the only dress she can put on by herself on tied the ribbon of the front together and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was less put together than she would have normally had it and her corset wasn’t quite tight enough, but she looked like herself. No glaringly obvious differences between what she looked like a day before. It all felt like a cruel joke. It couldn’t be real, but the metallic scent invading her nostrils with every breath and the aching in her gums told her otherwise.

She had to ask herself questions before deciding how to go about this. Was she ready to die? Did she want to be immortal? How was she supposed to live without really being alive? It was all too much. She decided to follow her instincts.

\---

**Richmond, Present**

Elijah was arriving at the apartment of his informant when his phone started to ring. He recognized the number. It was a shocking sight. He hadn’t spoken to the Salvatore girl directly in nearly 35 years. He would send her a code telling her of where they were headed as a courtesy many times before, but never have they needed direct contact, and never would he have expected a call from her.

“Miss Salvatore, it has been quite a while.”

“That it has, glad to see you are still on your brother’s good side.”

“Not for long if he finds out we’ve been in contact.” He heard her light chuckle over the line. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this impromptu chat?”

“I believe you have found and lost a certain doppelganger.”

“How do you know of that?” Elijah trusted this girl but wouldn’t allow her to stand in the way of his brother.

“I believe my brothers were the idiots that staked you over her. Don’t worry I’m not trying to protect her, really. More my brothers’ hearts. They have come to care for her, god only knows why, and I believe we are in a position to negotiate a deal.”

“And what may that be.”

“We hand over both Elena, and Katherine, for some time and a few other stipulations. Would you mind coming to Mystic Falls?”

“I thought you swore never to return to your hometown?”

“That was when I was blissfully unaware of my families apparent need to fall for doppelgangers.”

“I see. What time?”

“Come to the towns restaurant-slash-bar at 10 tomorrow. I’d like to catch up without the scooby gang getting involved, then come to the boarding house around noon.”

“I look forward to seeing you Caroline.”

“You too Elijah, and if you could keep this between us for the time being? I’d rather Nik not know I’m involved.”

“Of course.”

Then the beep signaling the end of the call chimed. He supposed he didn’t need to use his informant anymore.

\---

**Mystic Falls**

Damon stormed back into the house. How was it his little sister was able to break him down with just a few words and a stern look. He knew he deserved it, what he had done plagued him. He regretted it the moment he had snapped her neck. Some of that was fear that he had done it wrong and had murdered his baby sister, but he knew that he could never be truly forgiven. That didn’t make it okay for her to go and hand Elena off to be sacrificed though. He knew Stefan was going to do what Elena wanted and Rose just wanted protection, but he wasn’t going to let it happen if he could help it. He walked back over to the whiskey and poured it into a glass before Stefan spoke up.

“What did she say, is she talking to him?”

“She wants us to make a list of things to ask Elijah for in exchange for Elena being given up for the ritual.”

“Well, we know we want time to train bonnie how to save me, right? And I want to make sure my loved ones are protected. And I don’t want someone that doesn’t deserve it to die for me so we could find someone on their way to death or like a really bad criminal.”

“Right peruse death row got it.” Damon didn’t understand how she was okay with this. It made no sense why she was so willing to die.

“Elena are you sure you want to do this I understand it’s a lot, but we can try and take them on.” Stefan always the voice of overly optimistic reason.

“No, you didn’t hear what Katherine said. She’s been running from him for five hundred years. That’s why she’s here in the first place hoping to gain her freedom.”

“She right.” Rose who had been standing beside Damon with the liquor interjected. “You don’t beat them. you make a plea for your life. They’ll either torture you or make your death quick and painless. Either way, after wronging them you don’t have freedom.”

“After this you hopefully will Rose.” Caroline had entered the house without gaining the attention of anyone in the room.

“That wasn’t a very long phone call.”

“I find its best to negotiate in person and know just what you’re negotiating. So, have we come up with what we want?”

“My loved ones to be safe, and the time you talked about to train Bonnie, and I want the person that will be giving their life for mine to deserve it I guess, or already be dying. I don’t want to take a good person’s life.”

“Okay make a list of people not to be harmed. Keep it short, I know you’ll want to protect everyone, but we can’t exactly have every resident of Mystic Falls be under the protection of Elena Gilbert. Now Elijah will be showing up here around noon, I suggest Rose stay out of sight for the time being, he may be the most reasonable, but you would be the easiest to lash out on. You are on Klaus’s hit list and you have no direct involvement with me or Elena.”

“Stay away tomorrow, got it. You have a spare daylight ring I can borrow?”

“Just stay out of sight. You don’t have to go out into the daylight. Now tomorrow’s probably going to be long and I’d rather have today end on a happy note. So, I am going to bed and you’ll see me sometime before Elijah arrives tomorrow.” With that she headed towards her room.

\---

**New Orleans, 1865**

Caroline had no clue what she was doing. Unlike her brothers who knew about vampirism before their turn she was thrust into it with no clue how hard it would be to control her urges. She had it under control at first, but the first time she went to a public event it was all too much and she ended up killing someone. She hated how it made her feel. Not because she was racked with guilt but because her first thought was that she wanted to do it again. What kind of person could think that way? She supposed she wasn’t a person anymore though, just a demon possessing her thoughts and emotions. Nothing made sense anymore.

She had run into a vampire soon after that. She said she was on her way to a place where the supernatural lived in harmony with the humans, she didn’t have to hide and run after a few years. It sounded like a supernatural safe haven. Maybe there would have been some vampires that could help her with control. Maybe help her track down her brothers. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to face them. After the way she transitioned she wasn’t sure if she ever would, but she still loved them and wanted to make sure they knew she was okay and know that they were as well.

When she got to New Orleans her and her travel companion went their separate ways, and she was left alone again. Her first mission should have been finding a vampire to help her but being in a new place was so exciting and overwhelming she couldn’t help but marvel over the architecture. She eventually got hungry and knew it wasn’t a good idea to ignore it. She saw a man walking in the shadows seemingly trailing a woman. After she killed someone for the first time she decided to try and only feed on people she hoped no one would miss if it got to that point. She listened to see if he was human and found a strong steady heartbeat. Good. She blocked his path of the woman he was stalking. Hopefully, he’d follow her instead of her having to approach him. Once she was sure he was trailing her she turned down a dark alley. It was the perfect setting. If she situated herself properly anyone walking by would think she was simply a lady of the night and most wouldn’t intervene. Once he caught up to her and tried to push her up against the wall she flipped their positions and let her eyes dilate.

“What were you planning on doing just now?”

“Having my way with you.” He replied in a monotone and dazed voice.

“Do you have a wife or children?”

“No.”

“Good. Now, don’t scream.”

She let her fangs drop and the demon take over her features. She changed their position, so it looked like he was pressing her up against the wall and let her instincts take over. Every time she fed on a new person it was like nothing she’d ever felt. Every person tasted different, from their blood type down to the food they ate. She easily could have killed this man, already was by the sound of his heartbeat, but an accented voice stopped her.

“You shouldn't murder the locals, Love. Brings unnecessary attention.”

\---

**Mystic Falls, Present**

Caroline wasn’t sure what was making her more nervous. The fact that she was seeing someone she once considered a brother, or the fact that that ex-brother was loyal to a man she was trying to avoid more than anything else. She was extra early to the grill. Wanting to get a feel for her surroundings and be prepared before she had to face Elijah. She knew of all the exits and the heavy traffic areas. She was getting acquainted with the waiter, Matt, when Elijah arrived. Five minutes early. She expected that.

“Caroline, it’s great to see you.”

“You too, Elijah. How are you?”

“I’m good. But that’s not what you meant to ask was it?”

“How is he?”

“I do not understand why you don’t just call my brother. He would be elated to hear from you.”

“You know exactly why I left ‘lijah. I told him that I would find him when I was ready, but that day has yet to come.”

“How do you suppose you’ll avoid him while he’s here trying to break the curse?”

“I plan to not be here. I will stay just long enough to help their witch gain enough strength to resurrect Elena and will leave after you have notified him of the existence of the doppelganger. Unless you’ve already done that, then I will be orchestrating this whole thing through my brothers while in the safety of my apartment.”

“He has not been informed yet. I find he’s less likely to make rash decisions if everything is in order before it is handed to him.”

“Good. Well would you like to order some breakfast? Coffee?”

“A coffee sounds lovely.”

She waved over Matt and ordered. Once he was out of sight she continued the conversation.

“I don’t want to talk about the negotiation right now, though. We haven’t seen each other in three decades what have you been up to.”

“I spent a few years in a coffin thanks to your actions, but after Niklaus cooled down he realized he needed a mature brother instead of a copy of him but with no morals.”

“He woke up Kol. Why am I not surprised?”

“You know him better than most. Though, Kol was only granted about a decade before Niklaus grew bored with his antics.”

They continued on like that, catching up about the missing years, and relishing in the familiarity of their relationship. Caroline didn’t realize through her nerves that she actually missed he original. She was glad to be in his presence after all these years. He had spent more years being her brother than her own. It was a sad thought, but it was the truth, and it had been her choice in the end.

Once there was a lull in the conversation Elijah decided to ask how much her brothers and acquaintances knew about her knowledge of The Originals.

“They don’t know much. They know I spent a few years with you and your siblings, they don’t know that you are a family though. Most of their knowledge is just the legends. Klaus is the oldest, he wants to break the sun and moon curse, stuff like that. They don’t know anything real. I told them about how you can’t be killed like a normal vampire considering they thought you were dead. I’m going to have them take vervain. Not cause I don’t trust you, but as a safety precaution. I don’t want one of my brothers getting killed cause Nik decides to ask the wrong question.”

“And what do they know of you and Niklaus?”

“They know I had, or have, a thing with a man named Nik, they know I know Klaus, they don’t know that they are the same person. I’d like to keep it that way if you don’t mind.”

“I understand. Your brothers wouldn’t approve of you being in love with the enemy in this situation.”

“If it was Rebekah would you?”

“You forget, I am not the controlling brother.”

“True. I am going to order some food to go so I have an excuse to give my brothers. I’ll see you at noon Elijah.”

“I must ask Caroline.” He said while she flagged down their waiter. When she hummed an acknowledgement, and finished her order he continued. “Why are you helping him? You spent decades evading him, helping those who don’t want to be found by him, and don’t tell me you haven’t, if you don’t want to see him why help him with this? Why not help the girl run?”

“I still love him. I don’t think I could ever stop, but he feels like there is a part of himself locked away, just out of reach. I might not be ready to forgive him just yet, but that doesn’t mean I want him suffering, and I don’t want any involvement in his pain.”

“You are already a big part of that pain, sister.” She softened at his sentiment. “He has been in pain since you left and will continue to be until you return.” He cut himself off when the waiter returned with her bags of food and started back up once he left. “I hope that you decide to see him soon, or else I don’t know if him breaking his curse will be the end of his suffering like you hope it will be.”

She grabbed her bags and gave him a soft smile.

“It was good to see you. I’ll see you in an hour.” Then she walked out of the grill and turned down an alley behind it. Grounding herself by pushing her head against the brick and letting the tears she was holding at bay fall.

It was such a sadistically saccharine moment. The reminder that Nik would love her no matter what hidden in the words meant to hurt her, remind her of the pain she was causing herself and the man she loved. A reminder that she was family while also reminding her that she chose to leave it. Elijah always knew just how to break down whoever he needed without ever breaking a sweat.

She needed more than coffee.

\---

Stefan was worried. He wasn’t aware of Caroline’s morning routine anymore, but he hadn’t seen her all morning. He checked her room which had obviously been slept in but was empty. Her car wasn’t in the driveway and her phone was either dead or off, both not good signs. It was approaching 11:30 which was later than he assumed he’d be seeing her. He was about to call her again when her voice rang through the house. Easing his nerves.

“I BROUGHT FOOD!” She continued on a little quieter though. “It’s waffles and club sandwiches! Wasn’t sure if 11 meant it was lunch or breakfast!”

‘Same old Caroline’ he thought before heading towards the kitchen where she was starting to set out the takeout from the grill.

“I think 11:30 is closer to lunch, Caroline, but who can turn down waffles?” When he looked at her he saw some blood on the corner of her mouth. “Though I think you have breakfast on your face.” He got a plate and started to put some food on his plate while the rest of the house joined them, and Caroline wiped at the sides of her mouth. “Where were you this morning Care?”

“I told you I got food.”

“Doesn’t take two and a half hours for food, blondie.” Stefan wasn’t sure where they stood and if Damon’s harsh nature was the best way to go about reconciling their relationship, but he guessed it wasn’t his place to intrude.

“Well, I was getting nervous, so I decided to go for a drive, clear my head. Then I got something to eat and decided to get everyone something.”

“Thanks Caroline.” Elena said. “It was nice of you to consider us.”

“Yeah. So, when Elijah gets here I need everyone to try and let me talk. A lot of what you know of him is true. He’s noble, he keeps to his word. So, he twists what he means.”

“Like when he killed Trevor.” Rose spoke up. “He said he wouldn’t let Klaus hurt him. He said nothing of himself.”

“Yes, he’s amazing at that. So just because what he says sounds like a good deal doesn’t mean what he means is. Elena, do you have the list?” Elena nodded and handed her a piece of paper. “Thanks. I’m going to ask him to give us two months until he calls Klaus, give Rose her freedom, and make sure that anyone on this list stays out of whatever fire this situation might create in exchange for both doppelgangers.”

“You mean Katherine?” Elena asked. “She’s stuck in the tomb, as in can’t leave.”

“I know. That is up to him to deal with. Now, do we have any vervain? I don’t have enough for everyone here and myself.”

“Yeah, we do, why?” Stefan couldn’t think of a possible reason as to why they would need vervain. This was supposed to be relatively peaceful negotiation.

“Originals can compel vampires, so I’m going to have you guys drink a little each day, you can stop once it’s all over, but I don’t want one of you being forced to say or do something that could get you killed. It will hurt a lot, but it’s just a little bit and it gets better over time.” She looked over the list quickly before recognizing a name. “Matt? The guy that works at the grill?”

“Yeah he’s my childhood friend his life has already been thrown off track because of me I don’t want it to get worse.”

“Who else is on here?”

“My aunt and brother, my best friend, and my aunt’s boyfriend; he’s kinda the resident vampire hunter.”

“Doesn’t look like he does a very good job of it.”

“Well, you’re the good guys.”

“That all depends on perspective, doesn’t it?” Before anyone could answer a knock resounded through the house. “Guess it’s show time.” Rose sped out of the kitchen towards the room she slept in last night, while Caroline headed towards the entryway with three people following close behind.

“Caroline Salvatore, what a pleasure it is to see you.”

“You too Elijah.” She turned to let him in through the house. “We haven’t drawn up a lease, but it will be handled soon. These are my brothers, Damon and Stefan, and you know the doppelganger.”

“Sorry about impaling you with a coat rack by the way.”

“Damon!” All except Elijah shouted at him.

“It’s okay. No need to skirt around the topic. Now, I believe you said something about stipulations?”

“We just want to make sure we have enough time before Klaus is informed two months should be enough. As well as Elena's loved ones are kept out of any dealings. I’d also like for Rose to be given freedom. I’ve heard the story from Katherine herself and Trevor was the only one that did anything truly wrong.”

“I see, and you don’t wish for your own freedom?”

“You know as well as I that that can never be a possibility.” Elijah gave her a tilt of his head with a small smile. That Stefan couldn’t decipher.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just that. I can never be free from Klaus. Now, do you find our conditions to be fair?”

“I can ensure your loved ones’ safety while Klaus is yet to be aware of the situation, but I’m afraid I can’t control Klaus. He is impulsive and doesn’t think things through. I’ve found only one person could keep him in control, and she has not been in his life for quite some time.” He seemed to be speaking only to Caroline when he said this. ‘Did she know her in her time with The Originals?’

“We understand, but the people on this list will have your protection? Not just protection from you?”

“I will do my best to keep them safe.”

“Okay, and you agree to the rest?”

“I do. I will let you know when my brother has been contacted, which will be in exactly sixty days. I will also stay in town to make sure you don’t try to pull a disappearing act if the spell doesn’t work out the way you want.”

“Okay, thank you Elijah.”

“Thank you Caroline. Don’t be a stranger.”

He gave her a handshake and walked out the door.

“I guess it’s time to bring that witch you were talking about in.” Caroline said after a moment of silence. Leaving Stefan dumbfounded. Unable to comprehend how easily it all had just gone down. He expected an argument of some sort, possibly bloodshed if what he heard about The Originals was true. Instead, he got pleasantries and a quick negotiation. Maybe they didn’t need to be worried, Elijah seemed reasonable. Maybe Klaus’ reputation got out of hand just like Elijah’s had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay chapter 2 what do you think? Good, bad? I always take into account suggestions if given so give me ideas I might just use them.

**Author's Note:**

> I know I said I was on a hiatus of sorts cause I'm trying to graduate early and I shouldn't be writing another story, but I got this idea and wanted to put it out there while I still had the idea. This will also be kind of a training exercise for me cause I want it to be about 15 chapters not including prologue (Or epilogue if that happens) and I have trouble writing longer chapters so it's gonna help me with that.


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